Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

The Craigslist CJ8 Build

4K views 32 replies 10 participants last post by  Jeeprage 
#1 ·
Purchased this CJ8 on craigslist. It is been sitting for the last few months while I gather parts (from Craigslist), funds, and knowledge. Have read tons of posts on tons of topics and have learned so much so far. Though no practical experience with mechanics other than your basic tune up stuff.

The plan is to do as much as reasonably possible myself.

So here it is.

1983 CJ8 Scrambler
304 engine/2bbl
T5/Dana 300
Amc20/Dana30
ebay HEI

No fuel lines, no brake lines, no alternator, no exhaust, runs like crap, entire wiring harness coming out of the firewall, save 3 wires, is cut (see next comment). Seats from a TJ (I think), no rear shocks, flat leaf springs front and rear, leaky transfer case, leaky rear diff, 32" BFG MUD - dry rotted.

Voltmeter is the only gauge that works and the only other electrical that works is the starter, one headlight and one front signal.

Body is rattle can (I believe) primered and it looks like it was sprayed right over original paint. Undercarriage has some sort of coating that I think was rolled or painted on. Not sure what it is as I have not used POR15 anything like that....yet. Not rubbery though.

Body GOOD, Frame GOOD, Cowl GOOD, Windshield Frame GOOD, Floor pans Good! Undercarriage Good!
 

Attachments

See less See more
6
#4 ·
Picked up a rebuilt 360 on CL but more on that later.....

1st order of business - get the 304 running so that it can idle on its own. Then run compression and leak down tests and assess the health of the engine. Again, I have no practical mechanical experience (though I'd like to think I'm a handy guy) so I"m going to tinker and learn on the 304 for a little while and then depending on how good or bad the 304 is, eventually swap it out with the 360.

Could not really get the 304 to run on its own, so the first thing I did was swap out the plugs and put in a new accelerator cable (the old one was toast where it connects to the gas pedal). Still would not run on it's own, so I took the fuel pump off the 360 that is sitting in my garage and the 304 is now running slightly better....but nothing to write home about. The carburetor is leaking from the accelerator pump. Since the carburetor looks like it is 40 years and it is leaking I figure we're not going to get anywhere without rebuilding this carb (MC2100). So a rebuild will be my first project.
 
#6 ·
Is that a crack I see on the mounting ear of your carb? 2nd picture. Or just a little casting line? If it cracked, you will have a lot of misery (vacuum leaks) till you get it replaced. Great project! Always have liked Scramblers... God bless.
Jon In Tucson
 
#7 ·
Looks like an awesome foundation! I'd take basket case engine/wiring/suspension with an awesome tub/frame as a starting point over the inverse all day, every day! :thumbsup:
 
#13 ·
That's a great platform to learn about Jeeps. Great CL find too. No 8s around here, but I'd love to find one. I can't believe how good your frame is.
 
#18 ·
you can probably save yourself a ton of headaches by starting with a Painless wiring harness. Nice find, and body condition warrants further work on the drivetrain. Scramblers continue to appreciate in todays market.:thumbsup:
"Painless" is pretty much my plan B. Though all but 3 wires are cut from the harness (firewall side), they weren't cut right at the block. I've got about foot in length still. So, considering I'm learning and haven't paid my dues yet, I thought I would try to use what I got and see if I can make it work...at least for now.

I haven't taken a good look yet behind the dash. Wiring is definitely there but there are connectors not connected here and there. Not sure if they are supposed to be connected to something or maybe they just go to options I don't have; like maybe AC controls.
 
#19 ·
AC controls, clock and tach, that sort of stuff. The harnesses were universal, so everyone's got unused connectors somewhere.

Painless is a good option - I have one in a box I bought a while ago on sale for when I get that far in the build. But for now, like you, I made due with what I have. Like yours, mine is also in primer and has been for a number of years! I kinda like not being afraid to scratch the paint, and the hood doubles as a workbench:

 
#20 ·
I read quite a bit about carb cleaners and what works and what doesn't. Seems like most of the carb cleaners sold at your local auto supply are pretty useless since the EPA standards are so high.

So I experimented with a couple home recipes I read about. I tried most of the carburetor in lemon juice and cooked it for a couple hours. I tried the top/cover and various small pieces in Pine Sol and and some water and cooked it as well.

**Warning do not do this if wife is home! **

We all already know how bad Pine Sol smells. Well let me tell you....Lemon Juice and dirty aluminium, heated, is pretty awful. At least when we smell Pine Sol it sorta smells kinda cleanish; or least we equivalate Pine Sol with being clean. Heated lemon juice with the dirty carburetor just smelt like a stinky, greasy, machine shop or garage. Especially not good when coming from your kitchen stove.

RESULTS: Both worked surprisingly well at removing the dirt and grease. I didn't scrub a single piece and this how they turned out on their own. Jury is still out at how well each did in removing varnish.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. Nothing I used made the carb come out super shiny and new looking. Clean Yes, brand new No. Some parts actually came out super dull.
2. Lemon Juice worked GREAT on aluminum and rusty metal pieces.
3. Pine Sol worked very good on all parts but did not have as good an effect on rust as the lemon juice.
4. Do not use lemon juice on POT METAL parts.

Unbeknownst to me, the cluster venturi and thermostat housing, I believe are POT METAL, and as such the lemon juice ate them up (see pics). I think I can still use the thermostat housing but I don't think I want to use the venturi cluster.

Here are the pics. Before and After.
 

Attachments

#24 ·
The bad.....Do not use lemon juice (or anything acidic) on these parts. These are the "after" pics.
 

Attachments

#25 ·
So i got a rebuild kit from www.mikescarburetor.com and also got a donor carb from holliewood61 and used the cluster venturi and thermostat housing from that carb.

I decided to try out a dremel and a metal brush attachment and this is the result. Not bad.....
 

Attachments

#28 ·
Mounted the newly rebuilt carburetor....

I also picked up an alternator and had a heck of time with it. 1st, I bought it prior to knowing what year the engine was. I choose a later model 304 which has a different alternator and different alternator bracket. So the alternator I purchased (the one that is referenced in most of the threads AC Delco I believe) did not fit my bracket. I figured out the correct year of the engine ('73), got the correct one (prestolite I believe) and mounted it. It mounted without issue but, since I know nothing, and I have no alternator wires/harness/clip at all (because it was cut out) plus I have HEI and thus no coil, I had a heck of a time figuring out how to wire it. As mentioned, most of the threads and diagrams reference the AC Delco with a typical ignition or Team Rush upgrade. This was my first wiring experience. I'm sure it would be simple for someone that knows what they are doing but alas, I am not one of them. Long story short, I pieced together a bunch of threads and diagrams and figured it out. Thanks to the tons of people who submitted previous threads on this topic.

Started the vehicle.....AND SHE LIVES....SHE LIVES!!!

Actually runs pretty well. I just did basic adjustment (1 1/2 turns mixture screws) and adjusted the throttle screw. She starts right up (without a choke...I have choke issues we can discuss later), stays running and sounds pretty good; at least to an untrained ear. Can't drive her yet as mentioned I have no fuel lines or brake lines so who knows what will happen when she's pulling her own weight but I'm pleased so far....and learned a bunch of stuff. BTW....I checked the alternator with a meter and it looks like it is wired correctly.

Going to run a compression and leakdown test next.
 

Attachments

#29 ·
Question for you. In your 2nd to last picture it looks like the vac hose for your brake booster is missing. You'll need that if you are not aware.
On another note nice to hear you got it fired up in a short amount of time. From those 1st carb pictures you'd think someone ran that it through the surf! Yikes! Keep at it.
 
#30 ·
Yup add that to the list. Actually I didn't get it fired up as quick as it seems. Reality is a few steps ahead of my entries. I'm just now starting to document my progress. The whole thing, alternator, clean and rebuild carb actually took a couple months of tinkering here and there on the weekends.

With this entry I am now current. I completed a DRY compression test and pretty much got 150psi all the way around except cylinder #1 which read 160psi. I was pretty happy with these numbers as I have read in a couple entries that it came out of the factory w/150 and that anything between 140 and 160 was considered good. I didn't think it was necessary to do a wet test.

Moving on to the leakdown test. Numbers not as good as expected based on the compression readings. Basically, with testing at 90psi, my readings on the "right hand side" gauge were between 60 and 70 depending on which cylinder I tested. I did not test all 8 since all of the readings were so similar and I could feel air coming out of the oil fill on each. I tested 5 out of 8 cyclinders.

I wasn't exactly sure if I was testing TDC on the compression stroke. So, I cranked the engine by hand until it went to TDC a second time thinking I was sure to get the compression stroke on one of them. I basically got the same result on each test I performed. So I either did the test wrong or that's just the way it is. But I would think I would see a discernible difference between doing the test on the compression vs the exhaust stroke.

So if I did it right then, based on % difference that I have and the fact that air is coming out of the oil fill, I have bad rings or worn cyclinder walls which I guess would be expected for a 40 yo engine.

But if I have bad rings, should it not at least be blowing black smoke? or running crappy? It seems to run pretty good (untrained ear).Do you normally get 150psi compression and also get 30% leakdown? Can you have bad rings yet run good?
 

Attachments

#31 ·
One thing I forgot to mention......

Above I showed my cleaning (mostly degreasing) experience with Lemon Juice and Pine Sol (used separately). Though both degreased really well I wasn't sure about actual varnish removal so I did a little research and found this product:

Berryman #0905

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...ap?ck=Search_N0406_-1_4380&pt=N0406&ppt=C0090

I had read that this was the real deal, and not the same stuff as what is being sold in your local parts store. So I bit the bullet and bought the large 5 gal bucket along with a dipping basket. Man, this stuff stinks, waayyyyy worse that the cooked lemon juice in the kitchen described above. I mean this stuff lingers. You can smell it on your clothes just from being near the open can in the open air. Not for use indoors, not even a garage. Use it outdoors. I bought the Harbor Freight, bicep high rubber gloves, respirator, and mask. This stuff is no joke. You do not want to get it on your skin. Aside from being possibly being poisoned, it will get in your pores and you will stink for days. Smell will not wash off. I bought the big can so I could use the dipping basket with as little interaction as possible. If I bough the smaller can I figured I would have to transfer to a different container for soaking big parts and such and just did not want to deal with all the overhead associated with using a smaller amount.

Not really sure how much better it was than the lemon juice truthfully. As mentioned the lemon juice and pine sol (cooked, but used separately) did a great job degreasing and possibly de-varnishing. So I'm not 100% sure the Berrymans was needed. I can tell you the carb seems to run well now that it is cleaned and rebuilt. So I guess I did something right.

Also one thing of note. It is not recommended that the Berryman's be used as a degreaser; it's meant to remove varnish. The potency and longevity of the Berrymans is determined by how contaminated it gets. So I would still recommend a good cleaning (pine sol or lemon juice or whatever) before using any carb dip.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top